Amelia the rewrite
by Moonlady
Summary: Rewrite of a previous fic of mine. Amelia was Puck's fiancee. In the time between the banishment and the Gathering she went missing. Where is she and how will she effect Owen in the time to come should she be found?
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** For those of you who have read the first draft of this fanfic, Welcome back! I'm glad that you liked the first one well enough try to read this one. To new readers, don't read the first draft. It was pretty bad.

There are a lot of reasons I'm rewriting. But there are a couple of big ones.  
I didn't like how I was approaching the story and also I've been reading a lot about the canon of Gargoyles and it came to my attention that I've been completely disregarding a lot of stuff that I just didn't have to. I have a lot of respect for Greg Weisman and for how complex the canon world of Gargoyles is. So even though I've altered a few key points of it for my own whimsy, I see no reason to screw around with stuff that I don't have to.  
Also, I've been rewatching the series and that's made me want to give the story a different feel. I don't think where I was going with the first draft had the right atmosphere.

**Disclaimer:** Gargoyles was created by Greg Weisman and is owned in part by Disney and SLG comics. I am in no way affiliated with any of these people and am not gaining anything by writing this story except for some personal satisfaction. The Character of Emily/Amelia was created by me for the purpose of putting her into the Gargoyles universe. Take her for your own use if you'd like.

* * *

Prologue

Owen had been uneasy since the moment he woke up that day. Something had him on edge. There was something... peculiar in the air, like an electric current. It was a strange sort of magic that seemed so familiar. It could only be Avalonian in nature, but everyone was supposed to be back in Avalon for the Gathering. Except, perhaps if...

Owen coughed as he choked a little on his coffee. He gathered himself and cleared his throat. After a moment he looked around surreptitiously to make sure he hadn't called much attention to himself. Xanatos was giving him an incredulous look.

"Alright, Owen?" He asked.

"Quite." Owen replied.

"I've noticed you're not quite... on your game. As it were." Xanatos thought to mention. Owen thought carefully about how to address this.

"It's nothing... pressing, as of yet." Owen replied.

Owen's personality had changed ever since the incident with Oberon a year ago, Xanatos noted. Admittedly it was hard to tell with someone as 'naturally' stiff as Owen, but the changes were there. It seemed as though there was just... less to him. He was notably less sardonic, whenever plans got a bit... convoluted he never called Xanatos on it anymore, and he was much less conversational. He took much less enjoyment out of life.

The only time when this bizarre type of depression let up was after Owen had spent some significant time with Alex. If Xanatos had been any other parent and Owen had been any other man, this would have been cause for great concern. But it wasn't as if Xanatos didn't know exactly what was going on.

'Being trapped in the body of a man so unlike yourself. It must be maddening.' Xanatos mused.

Puck had never been an area of discussion between the two of them. It was part of the agreement made when Puck first revealed himself that Xanatos must never act as if he knew Puck was inside the stiff man. So the subject was a taboo.

Of course the agreement didn't quite stand anymore. Now that Owen had revealed himself to everyone else the casual mention of the trickster within was tolerated. But not enjoyed. He got a small sense of satisfaction from being able to make Owen's eyebrow twitch in annoyance whenever his true name was mentioned.

Xanatos hadn't been able to bring himself to question Owen directly though. Even though he was full of questions. But oddly enough, now seemed like a perfectly good opportunity. He didn't get the chance.

"I'd like to request a day off." Owen said suddenly. Xanatos' eyebrows went up.

"Very well." He answered. "You look like you could use one."

Owen only ever requested days off when he expected conflict in his... schedules. Xanatos couldn't fathom what might come up given that Puck's powered were restricted as they were. But perhaps the chance to... stretch would cheer his friend up a bit.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Nyaahhhhh! Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! I'm so excited. I'm sorry for anyone who wanted the other one to press forward, but take heart that I just hadn't gotten all that far in that one before I realized the necessity to change the whole thing. And really, the writing in that one is terrible and Emily was just stupid. It had so many elements of my juvenile writing style still attached to it when I know I've gotten better.

Here's hoping you guys will like this one much better.


	2. Emily

**Author's Note:** It occurs to me that I could have put the first part of this chapter into the Prologue as well. This division doesn't flow as well as it might. But I'm not going to stress it.

* * *

Chapter 1: Emily

Owen did take a day off. In fact he took three. He was rather tight lipped about what he'd done with those three days (as expected) but Xanatos could see a definite... spring in his step.

Xanatos' curiosity was getting the better of him. In the slight chance that it had been an actual mundane type of vacation Xanatos checked Owen's company credit card.

Most of the charges were rather standard. Lunches for one, regular shopping trips and the like.

However... There were also two night in a hotel and a rather large bill at a local high end jewelry store. _That_ was interesting...

"Surely it couldn't be something as boring as getting laid that's put you in such a peppy mood." Xanatos.

"Sir?" Owen asked, looking up from the papers he'd been examining. He'd been studiously ignoring Xanatos' calculating stare for the past half hour or so.

"You've been much more... personable, shall we say, ever since you came back from your days off." Xanatos explained. "I was curious as to your change in mood so I did a little snooping."

"Oh?" Owen raised an eyebrow and tried not to smirk. "And your best guess was that I went away and had a small tryst?"

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I'd like to think I know you better than that." Xanatos defended.

"I'm sure." Owen went back to writing.

"Enigmatic as you are." Xanatos said with a hint of annoyance. Owen _did_ smirk at that.

There was a long silence in which Owen was able to get back to work for a short time and Xanatos continued to stare at him. Then Xanatos spoke up again.

"What DID you buy at that jewelry store?" Xanatos asked. Owen paused and looked up from the papers again. He didn't answer right away, weighing the options of silence versus disclosure.

"A necklace." Owen answered.

"Can I see it?" Xanatos asked.

"No." Owen answered without hesitating that time. Xanatos frowned in disappointment.

"Owen, I know the types of things that are likely to put a spring in your step." Xanatos said. Is this necklace likely to... bring difficulty later on?" He asked warily.

Owen thought carefully about how to answer that one. It was an awfully vague question. He knew the necklace would bring about an interesting string of events, but he didn't see them interfering much with the Xanatos clan.

"I don't foresee any conflicts arising, no." Owen answered.

Xanatos let himself relax at that. He picked up the papers in front of him and got up to leave the office.

"That's not to say," Owen added. "We won't see some excitement."

Xanatos paused at the doorway and turned around to see Owen looking at him. There was a glint in his eyes that Xanatos hadn't seen in quite a while. Xanatos just raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's nice to see you're feeling better Owen."

=====[Break]=====

"Emily! Stop dawdling around, your order's up!" A harsh voice came from the kitchen.

"Hold on, hold on! I'm working on it!" A slightly harried voice answered.

A small teenaged girl with a pale complexion and faint freckles rushed around the counter with an armful of dirty dishes she was trying valiantly not to drop before she could get them into the tubs behind the counter. Her dark brown hair was put up in a bun at the back of her head, it was slowly coming undone and tendrils of hair were falling down around her head, some framing her face just a little.

"You need to pick up the pace!" The harsh voice, which belonged to a tall man in his late 40s, said. He was well built, stocky man who had a squared off jawline with a perpetual three day growth. He had balding black hair and had several deep lines along his forehead. Despite his harsh voice he looked fairly friendly.

"Bill, I swear! If you start harassing me and make me drop the food again I'm not eating the bill this time!" Emily shouted back at him. She picked up the order sitting on the counter and rushed off again.

"The hell you won't!" Bill shouted at her from his place at the stove as she left earshot.

The lunch rush was busy busy busy today, especially for such a dinky little restaurant. There wasn't a moments peace between one customer leaving the table a mess and another waiting to be seated at it.

Emily spared a brief moment to glare at Sarah, the redheaded 20-something that was supposedly passing for the second waitress Bill said he'd hire. Emily couldn't be sure, but she was _fairly_ certain the only reason Sarah was able to keep her job here was that she'd started sleeping with Bill. In the long run Emily didn't care, the less tables Sarah handled the more tips Emily got. Sarah seemed perfectly happy to stay at the register and log in under 'hostess' to ensure she got minimum wage for the day. If Bill was aware of this then he was turning a blind eye in order to keep getting laid.

If Emily had to guess she'd say that Bill was just lonely. He didn't really strike her as a sleazy kinda guy. He'd never tried to proposition her in that fashion when she started working there, and she didn't think it was because she was hard on the eyes. Actually, the way the guy at this current table was eying her agreed with that assessment.

He wasn't the type of fair they usually served here. He looked pretty out of place given that he was wearing a very well tailored suit and glasses that were clearly designer. Very clean cut, very stylish. He didn't seem to mind that he stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Hi, I'm so sorry for the wait. You ordered the club sandwich right?" Emily asked, setting the plate down on the table in front of him.

"Indeed." He answered. Emily smiled at him and quickly departed as Bill banged on the bell that told her she had another order waiting. Emily had to admit, he was kind of good looking.

'Kinda weird though.' Emily thought as she observed him out of the corner of her eye. He methodically picked at his sandwich and fries using only his right hand. When he came in Emily had noticed that there was something off about his left hand, maybe it was a prosthetic.

"Stop makin' eyes at him and pay attention to the other tables." Bill grumped at her.

"Oh shut up." Emily replied.

"It's just terrible how you let her talk to you that way..." She heard Sarah say softly as she started to depart with the tray of food. Emily frowned at that but tried not to be distracted. It was just another segue into flirting...

Besides, how much trouble could she really cause?

* * *

**Author's Note:** When thinking up Bill I actually sort of had Mandy Patinkin in mind for how he looks. Specifically from 'Dead Like Me' if you've ever seen the show.


	3. Fox

**Author's Notes:** Mmmmm... Well, one of the necessities of rewriting is to go over stuff you already have I suppose...

* * *

Chapter 2: Fox

Fox was dressed in a dark blue, strapless, evening gown. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with an ornate silver clip. She had on diamond earrings and a small silver chain with a pendant. She was clearly made up to go out for the evening. But that's was the furthest thing from her mind.

Fox was fretting over Alexander. He was fussing and running a fever.

"Huwts." Alex whined as he rubbed at his forehead with a small balled up hand.

"Oh, sweetie... Are you sick?" Fox asked. She held him close and laid her cheek on the crown of his head gently as she rocked back and forth on her hips to try and soothe him.

Something had started plaguing Alex at regular intervals recently. Every two weeks or so he'd get inconsolably fussy and start complaining that his head hurt. Fox would try everything to take the pain away and get him to sleep but nothing she did ever did any good. Usually, right as she was at her most desperate and just about to call the doctor, Owen would sweep in and calm him with just a touch. Fox wasn't stupid, she knew Puck's magic was at hand somehow. But to see Alex calmed so quickly and efficiently with Owen not so much as blinking an eye...

Fox had to admit it made her feel a little bitter sometimes.

Owen never bothered explaining to her what was troubling Alex either. Which seemed unnecessary to her, why should she be kept in the dark? She tried to explain this to David but he seemed unconcerned. He viewed Owen as an unlimited resource, therefore in his view Owen would always be there to make sure Alex was okay so that she wouldn't have to. Which was a valid enough view, she supposed, given the circumstances. Owen was rather effectively tied to Xanatos, and almost more so to Alex. She didn't like to think about that very much.

Just then David came in, looking just a bit like 007 in his high end tuxedo, with Owen trailing in behind him. Fox knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Oh, Alexander..." David gently took Alex from her and held him close.

"He's been fussy all night again." Fox lamented.

"Owen, you seem to know what's wrong with him." David shifted and handed Alex off to Owen. "Is this something we should be worried about?"

Owen held Alex with his left hand and passed his right over Alex's forehead a few times. Alex sighed and stopped rubbing at his head. He still looked miserable though.

"It's not going to stop until..." Owen stopped. He'd been addressing Alex. He looked up at the two of them.

"I wouldn't trouble yourself sir." Owen answered. "I'm sure it will work itself out in time."

David's posture relaxed considerably.

After a silent moment David looked over to Fox, who was still looking at Owen with a troubled expression on her face.

"Are we ready to go my dear?" David asked.

"David, if Alex is sick then really shouldn't we stay here and look after him?" Fox asked.

"I really don't think that's necessary sir." Owen interrupted. "I'm sure Alex will benefit from a full nights rest. You and Fox should go and enjoy yourselves." Fox scoffed.

"You're not fooling anyone." Fox said to Owen. "If Alex really IS sick then should you really take him flying all around New York?" She asked, her voice full of confrontation.

The air between them crackled.

"Alexander is not sick, nor did I have the intention of gallivanting across the city with him." Owen said more stiffly than normal.

"What are you going to be teaching him tonight then?" Fox asked. "How to stay safely at home and not interfere in dangerous situations?"

"Perhaps if you were less aversive of magic then more of his lessons could be at home." Owen's voice was steely and cold.

This was a common argument among the two of them. Ever since Titania and Oberon's spectacle last year Fox had been wary of any mention of the Third Race. Conveniently turning a blind eye to the fact that both she and her son had that blood in them she often turned her dislike of them towards Owen. Owen was a prime example of why they made her so uneasy.

Puck, at best, was a mischief maker. A dangerous one at that who liked to cause nothing but trouble for mortals. It was hard to convince Fox that he had any good intentions no matter how attached he seemed to be towards her family. But here he was parading around as Owen Burnett, a man she'd known almost all of her life and one she had thought she'd known to be respectable, hard working, and trustworthy.

To find her mother was Titania... That had been a terrible shock, but one that was almost forgivable in a sense. For someone as detached from her parents as she was to find out her mother came from an entirely different world was almost reasonable. But to find out that beneath strong, upstanding Owen lay the terrible trickster Puck... It was almost as if they'd all been manipulating her life from behind the scenes from the start. And now they were trying to do that to her son as well.

It didn't help that Owen was terribly secretive of his life as Puck, which ended up including the lessons he gave Alex.

"David... we're going to be late for the benefit." Fox said in a stiff voice after a moment.

"Of course." David said.

Xanatos had been watching the interplay between Owen and Fox very carefully. He'd thought to take Alex out of the room, but decided that his presence was most likely the most effective dampener the two of them had. It was only their mutual protectiveness of him that caused the two of them to fight.

Fox wrapped one of her arms around one of David's and let herself be led out of the room. Owen sighed and turned his attention back to Alex. Alex was giving him a reproachful look.

"Oh, are we blaming me now?" Owen's voice shifted. He morphed into Puck and tossed Alex up into the air. Alex floated there for a moment before coming down slowly into Puck's arms again.

"Your mother worries so much. You've got to understand that it's just in her nature to fight over you. If you could recall the circumstances you were born under you'd know why." Puck explained.

"But now that she's gone lets see if we can't get rid of some of that excess energy that's giving you so much trouble..."

Alex's eyes practically glowed with excitement.

"What you teach tonight Puck?" Alex asked.

"Oh, nothing terribly exciting I think." Puck lamented. He dug around in his sash and pulled out a necklace. He held it up in front of Alex, who took hold of it gingerly.

The necklace was a mossy colored, translucent stone that resembled quartz. It had gold molding around the top of it that had a small loop through which a golden chain was threaded.

"Alex, what can you tell me about the owner of this necklace?" Puck asked innocently.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I actually wrote out a whole scene with Xanatos and Alexander having a 'discussion' in a different room while Fox and Owen argued. But I didn't like how it came out so I just skipped over the bit where Owen and Fox fight. The tensions are there, I think that's enough.


	4. Lexington

**Author's Note:** My apologies for this chapter being short.

* * *

Chapter 3: Lexington

Young Alexander had been able to identify most of what Puck already knew about the necklace. Which was good, he supposed. He hadn't really expected Alex to be able to do any more than that. The necklace was a unique teaching tool in that it essentially held all the right magical signatures to be identifiable as a Child of Oberon without Puck actually having to bring one in. Identifying certain types of magical cues was a handy skill that he was glad Alex would have the opportunity to learn this way.

But there was still the matter of the necklace itself to be addressed. Puck couldn't fathom how it had come into being. What had happened to the previous owner of the magic this necklace now possessed? Surely she hadn't just disappeared into thin air...

Puck set Alex to playing 'carousel' with his toys and making other mischief about the room to tire himself out as he studied the necklace himself. To anyone not versed in magic it would seem like just an ordinary necklace. The proprietor of the jewelry shop he'd found it at hadn't the foggiest idea what he had.

'Of course, they never do.' Puck mused.

But to anyone who might know what they were looking at...

A noise from the hallway disrupted his thoughts. Puck looked at the clock on the wall quickly. It wasn't time for David and Fox to be back. It must be one of the gargoyles. Lexington, most likely, as he liked to check in on Alex before the boy went to bed. Puck didn't bother to hide behind Owen, the Gargoyles were surprisingly very tolerant of him. Perhaps because of his machinations during the Coldstone dilemma. They also seemed to have a clearer notion of the need for Alex's lessons than his mother did, which Puck found odd.

It was, in fact, Lexington that padded into the room just a moment later. Much to Alex's excitement.

"Lex!" Alex shouted. His toys went raining down to the floor as he was distracted.

Puck and Lexington got along rather well actually. Perhaps bonding over the mutual fondness for Young Alexander. Ever since that first lesson Lexington was willing to put up with quite a lot. Often he was the butt of the... lessons that Puck would teach. Or an otherwise instrumental part. If he'd been particularly offended by some of them he generally took out his ire by playing some sort of prank on Owen. Puck thought this was great fun.

"So, what sort of stuff have you been learning tonight?" Lexington asked Alex.

"No lesson." Alex lamented.

"No lesson? Then why are you here Puck?" Lexington asked. Puck, who was still floating in the air and examining the necklace, hadn't been paying much attention. He let his head dangle upside down so he could look at Lexington.

"The kids got to stretch his legs every once in a while, so to speak. Especially while his mother is away." Puck explained. "I'm just here to make sure he stays within reasonable limits. And do a bit of stretching myself I suppose." Puck had sort of trailed off by the end there. He'd went back to studying the necklace. It was terribly distracting.

"What have you got there?" Lexington asked, noticing the necklace as the light reflected off of it. Puck clapped his hands around it suddenly.

"Nothing!" He shouted. He landed on the floor and put the necklace back into his sash.

"A shiny, magical sort of nothing?" Lexington asked skeptically.

"That's exactly the kind." Puck agreed. Lexington raised an eyebrow ridge at him. Just then Alex yawned rather loudly.

"Oh, it sounds like it's Young Alexander's bedtime. That's my cue." Puck turned back into Owen and picked Alex up.

"Goodnight Lexington." Owen said as he left the room with Alex in hand.

=====[Break]=====

Lexington made his way back up to the upper levels of the castle. Back into 'gargoyle territory' as it were. All the while thinking about his interaction with Puck.

Lexington would be the first to admit it. It was a trait that had gotten him in enough trouble in the past that he could easily recognize it when it came up. But somehow that just wasn't making much of a difference this time. Lexington was descended from magpies.

Not literally of course. But just like a magpie Lexington was drawn to pretty shiny things. Not in the sense that he wanted to take and keep them for himself. But more in the 'I want to touch it and see what it does' sense. He suspected that was one of the reasons he liked computers so much. At the moment this distracting facet of his personality was focused on the necklace Puck had. Puck had pretty much confirmed it was a magical artifact. That meant it had to do SOMETHING... but what?

"No... don't think about it." Lexington told himself. "You know magical artifacts are nothing but trouble." He reaffirmed.

"Magical artifacts?" Goliath asked from somewhere behind Lexington. Lexington startled and turned around quickly.

"Goliath!" Lexington said in surprise. "I was just... talking to myself."

"About magic?" Goliath questioned.

"Well... it comes up from time to time. Because of Alex and stuff." Lexington reasoned. Goliath made a pensive noise and dropped the subject. Lexington winced as Goliath walked away. He shouldn't lie to Goliath. But as long as he stopped thinking about it like he told himself he would then there wouldn't be any problems.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah... Lexington is a cutie. Expect more of him, since clearly he's about to get into mischief.


	5. The Invitation

**Author's Note:** Emily chapter.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Invitation

The sharp dressed blonde man with the prosthetic hand was back again, he'd become a regular as of late. That was actually the upper of Emily's day. Sarah hadn't come in so Emily had to do the tables _and_ man the register. Bill hadn't come in today so his sister was in the office just in case, and her son was manning the stoves and doing a mediocre job at best. She kept having to return orders that he either burnt or messed up in some way.

"Rough day?" The blonde man asked, clearly amused at her frustrated expression.

"With the knowledge that my problems are small in the grand scheme of things, I TRY not to be too annoyed with them." Emily explained. "That's not working today." She added as the punchline. He smirked at her.

"So, you'll have the club again?" Emily asked.

"Yes please." He said as he handed her the menu.

"Oh good. At least that's an order the idiot back there isn't likely to screw up." Emily said in a sarcastically cheerful voice before walking away.

Not half an hour later Bill came in the door looking more than a little cranky. He went straight to the back office. Emily scoped the room before deciding it was probably okay to follow him.

"What do mean there's a mobster in the dining room? Do I LOOK like the kind of idiot that would fall for that protection racket bullshit?" She heard Bill yell.

"If that guy in the suit isn't with the mob than what is he?" Bill's sister (Emily thought her her name was Mary or Marie, but wasn't sure) asked in a softer voice. She'd only moved to New York a year or so ago. She was still a little obsessed with the cliches and stereotypes of the city. She probably thought half the people she passed were mobsters.

"What guy?" Bill asked in exasperation. Sensing that Mary (Marie?) was probably going to show him Emily attempted to flee before getting caught eavesdropping. Sarah blocked her path.

"When did you get in?" Emily asked roughly. Sarah frowned at her.

"I came in with Billy." Emily carefully didn't roll her eyes at the way she'd said that.

"What are you two doing back here?" Bill asked as Marie (Mary?) passed by the two of them. Emily turned around to face him.

"Oh, Boss-" Emily started.

"The front's busy isn't it? Get up there." He said.

"Right." Emily quickly retreated to the front which is where she wanted to be anyway so that worked out okay.

"That's the one." Mary ( Ma-oh whatever) pointed to the blonde man discreetly when Bill got up front as well.

"Marie..." Bill sighed, conveniently clarifying Emily's name issue. "He's not with the mob. His credit card is issued from Xanatos Corporation. He's one of the higher-ups from the Eerie Building." Bill explained.

"You mean the gargoyle building?" Sarah spoke up, sounding really creeped out.

"That's just as bad. You know that corporation is up to no good, housing those devilish creatures." Marie crossed her arms defiantly. "You should ask him to leave."

"What? But he's a regular. Plus he tips so well." Emily complained. He was just sitting there eating his sandwich, Emily couldn't see anything wrong with this picture... except that his drink was nearly empty, she should probably ask if he needed a refill. Emily slipped out from behind the counter to do just that before Bill grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Oh c'mon, you can't be serious." Emily protested.

"Go see to the other customers." Bill told her. Emily rolled her eyes in disgust but did as she was told.

As Emily went around and refilled coffees and cleared plates she kept her eyes on Bill and the blonde man. After a heated discussion in whispers with Marie, Bill went and started up a conversation with the man. It all seemed to start out amicably enough. Bill shook his hand and sat down on the other side of the booth and they talked for a minute. Then the blonde man raised an eyebrow at Bill. Emily suspected that's when the whole thing started to go downhill. Emily couldn't believe that Bill was actually going to ask the man to leave just because he worked at some company that may or may not have peculiar business practices.

Though now that Emily thought about it... David Xanatos was always in the news for doing something weird. He'd gone to jail a time or two as well. She wondered what kind of job this guy had at Xanatos Corp. He must lead an interesting life.

Emily must have missed the last part of the conversation as she was at the register with a customer because the next customer up to pay was the blonde man. Emily wasn't sure what to say to him. He was a fairly stiff person so it was hard to pinpoint how he felt about all of this.

"How was your meal?" She recited at a loss.

"The first half of it was quite good." The man said as he pulled out his wallet. "The last half is likely to disagree with me." Emily snorted and grinned at him.

"Do you get thrown out of establishments often for working at Xanatos..." Emily examined his card. "Mr. Burnett?"

"No." He said. "Usually I get hounded by reporters. The anonymity of this part of town is a pleasant alternative."

"Well, hopefully you can find yourself another nice anonymous diner. One where the manager _isn't_ being hounded by his sister and his girlfriend to get rid of you." Emily said wryly.

"I'm sure I will before too long." He commented. "But in the mean time, I'd like to ask you to dinner."

Emily didn't know exactly what to say to that. Though most of her was calling herself an idiot for hesitating. Here was a good looking guy who was clearly well off and he was asking her out, what was there to think about? But the back of her mind was filled with paranoia. This guy _was_ well off, and more than 10 years older than her. What did he want with her anyway?

"Okay." Emily said. She hoped she hadn't hesitated too long.

"Excellent." As he took his card back he handed her a tip along with a card. His business card.

"Have a nice day." Emily said as he left.

'Owen Burnett'... Emily thought as she examined the card. She nearly choked when she noticed his title. She slipped the card into her pocket discreetly.

"What did you talk to him about?" Sarah asked.

"Oh..." Emily hemmed. "He wasn't all that pleased with being kicked out. I was just placating him." Sarah didn't look convinced.

"What'd he give you?" Sarah eyed Emily's pocket.

"A nice tip, what's it to you?" Emily started to walk away. Sarah's hand went out to reach for Emily's pocket but Emily dodged out of the way.

"Stay out of my business." Emily said, feeling affronted. Emily managed to walk away successfully that time and get back to work.

* * *

**Author's Note:** By now you've possibly noticed that I'm sort of skipping around the story with different characters. I hope this doesn't bug anybody.


	6. Dream a little dream

**Author's Note:** Mmm... This chapter seems a little short.

* * *

Chapter 5: Dream a little dream

Owen's first indication that the necklace could actually do something was the day he found it. Of course as it was an Avalonian artifact and he hailed from Avalon it wouldn't have had any effect on him unless he had allowed it. But he'd been so desperate for some indication of her. Any sign that the necklace was still attached to her in some way... So he'd opened his mind.

Very little had happened during the day when he wore it. The magic that resonated through the necklace had filtered through him but didn't interact in any notable way. Though he had to admit the way it flowed through him was rather... distracting. He thought perhaps it recognized him.

He was able to go through his day perfectly normally. He milled around parts of the city where he normally wouldn't. He took care of some mundane shopping. Then sometime in the afternoon he found a diner he ended up liking enough that he'd became a regular until just recently. It wasn't until that afternoon at the diner that the necklace started to make it's presence slightly more known.

He'd noticed the waitress right away. Actually, he'd been rather shamelessly flirting with her. At least as much as Owen possibly could, he wasn't really designed to be flirtatious. But the waitress had gotten his attention in some way. It was about halfway through his meal that the necklace... reacted. To his flirtatious notions he supposed. The magic started to... caress him. Fondly. And _very_ familiarly.

If she'd had physical form it would have been completely indecent.

Owen beat a hasty retreat to the hotel he'd booked the day before. If he'd had less control or had been wearing a shorter jacket he suspected he might've embarrassed himself quite a bit. But just as soon as he was alone the necklace stopped drumming through him as suddenly as it had started. He thought it best not to attempt another trip out with the necklace on.

He spent a long evening studying the necklace trying to determine the source of the phenomenon before returning it to his neck and going to bed.

He dreamt vividly that night.

_"Robin!" A delighted voice whispered to him._

_Puck opened his eyes sat up quickly to find himself in a grassy patch on a forest floor. It was peaceful and quiet. The leaves rustled somewhere behind him and he turned. The wind blew gently and the branches of all the trees around him swayed._

_"I knew you'd find me." A mischievous feminine voice said with a giggle. Puck spun around, hoping to spot the source._

_"You always do." Arms draped around him from behind. He resisted a surprised yelp._

_Puck stood very still and brought his hands up to brush his fingers against the arms around his shoulders._

_After a moment he turned around again, this time slower._

_"Amelia..." He gasped as he finally caught sight of her. He had so many questions to ask, so many thoughts on his mind, that none of them seemed to want to be first. He just stood there staring at her._

_"Amelia..." He tried again. This time only to be cut off by her lips. All those many thoughts he'd had just a moment ago completely dissipated, driven away by Amelia's soft lips and gentle touches. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace._

_"Robin." Amelia whimpered as his hands moved against her back._

_Puck dragged her down onto the grass._

_The scene broke and suddenly Owen was looking into what seemed to be a scrying mirror of sorts. Puck and Amelia were getting rather passionate._

_"I'll give you a hint." Came a disembodied female voice he didn't quite recognize. "I did it on purpose."_

_The mirror flashed and for just a split second he caught a glimpse of a pale visage with long brown hair before the mirror shattered._

Owen awoke with a jolt. He sat up in bed panting. He laid back down on the bed as he caught his breath. He took a mental assessment of himself and groaned as he realized the state his body was in. A cold shower was clearly in order.

He lifted the necklace over his head and off his neck. He held the necklace up and watched as it seemed to catch a light that wasn't there.

...

So Owen wasn't ignorant of the fact the necklace might have some effect on others. But he was also curious to know more. Amelia had clearly presented him with a riddle. The clearest way to gain more information, he supposed, would be to put the necklace in a different situation.

It didn't take long for the opportunity to do so presented itself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'll bet you guys can guess what's in the next chapter... maybe. Hint: It's not the date.


	7. Picking Locks

**Author's Note:** Filler chapter... Excuses below.

* * *

Chapter 6: Picking Locks

Lexington snuck down the hallway carefully. Every time his feet hit the tile with a loud click he winced. When he finally made it to his approximate destination he breathed a sigh of relief.

Lex jiggled the handle on Owen's office door and sighed in resignation as he realized it was locked. It wasn't a surprise, but a nuisance anyway. Lex pulled a leather case out of his belt and pulled some metal picks out of it.

'If it's not in here, then I'll have to check his living quarters.' Lex mused. 'That'll be a completely different set of problems.' He stuck the picks in the lock and started fiddling with them.

Every once in a while Lex glanced nervously at the security camera. He'd given himself a wide window to get this accomplished, but he was still on edge. He felt a little guilty for doing this at all, but he could always find a justification.

'This thing might be dangerous. Puck might be planning something with it. It'd be good for me to get a look at it before that happens.' Was the one that pushed him forward this time.

The lock finally clicked and Lexington opened the door. He closed the door gently behind himself and made his way over to the desk. Owen's desk was clear of clutter and everything was aligned at perfectly 90 degree angles. That was a bit intimidating. If he knocked anything off by just a bit he got the feeling Owen would know. But it also eliminated the top of the desk as a place to search.

Lex sat down at the desk and pulled on one of the drawers. They were locked. Lex rolled his eyes. Of course.

Lex pulled the picks out AGAIN and started on the first one. These locks weren't as complicated as the door so they didn't take as long. He got the first drawer open right away. It was a file drawer. Lex shifted through them and checked the bottom of the drawer just in case. He had just started on the other side when the phone rang.

Lex jumped back from the desk and paused as the phone continued to ring. He calmed himself down before approaching the desk again and fiddling with the drawer some more. Just then Owen's voice filled the air. Lexington paused.

"Rewrite the merger with ShoreCast to include..." Lexington listened in confusion for a moment before he realized what was going on. Owen was dictating messages to himself.

Owen had gone off with Xanatos to the west coast on some sort of business trip. Lexington hadn't gotten the details, all that matter to him was that Owen would be away. Giving Lex a nice window to see if he couldn't get a close up look at the necklace.

"... in Lexington."

Lexington ducked when he heard his name. The answering machine then beeped and clicked off.

'I wonder if he was talking about me...' Lexington mused. He hadn't really been paying attention...If he played the message then Owen would know someone had been in here. There was no way of knowing.

After a moment Lex got back to work and popped open the other side of the desk. This side was a bunch of drawers and it looked much more promising. He probably should have checked this side first.

Lex finally found the necklace. It was in the bottom drawer in a dark blue velvet jewelry case. He popped open the case and marveled at the necklace. It seemed to shine and sparkle even now when there was no light.

'I just want to see what it does, that's all. All magical artifacts have a purpose...' Lex thought as he picked the necklace out of the casing. He stuffed it into his pocket and fled from the office.

====[Break]====

Lexington had to wait until he had another opportunity to be alone before he could look at it more carefully. For two nights it burned a hole in his pocket as different things came up to distract him. But he finally got his chance.

Goliath was off helping Eliza catch some notorious criminal, Angela & Broadway were off on a date, and Brooklyn was off doing... something. He hadn't said. So as long as he steered clear of the TV room where Hudson & Bronx were then he might as well have the whole castle to himself.

Lexington pulled the necklace out and set it on the table in front of him. Aside from the inexplicable light it seemed to refract it looked normal enough. A mossy green quartz with golden accents.

"I probably have to put it on." Lex said to himself. He picked it up, but hesitated. Would it do something terrible? Or irreversible? He didn't know how he would explain if something happened.

After a moment he put the necklace on anyway, resolving to worry about that later.

Lex waited... but didn't notice any change. He sighed, half in relief and half in disappointment. He took the pendant in hand and brought it up to his face to look at it.

"I bet if I were a Child of Oberon I'd know exactly what you do." Lex said bitterly. He let the pendant drop to his chest again and decided to leave the castle to go flying for a bit. It'd clear his head and it might give him a few more ideas.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry that this was sort of a crappy chapter. We started our summer early here and decided to go on a really long road trip. I know you'd think that would give me more time to write but...  
Anyway, I'm gearing up for the first real 'conflict' in the story and I'm rather nervous because I'm historically bad at writing conflict. Stay tuned.


	8. The Call

**Author's Note:** Mmm... Not sure if filler or exposition...

* * *

Chapter 7: The Call  
_(A/N: I'd like to apologize for my crappy titling skills...)_

Emily stumbled into her little hole in the wall apartment while staving off an exhausted yawn. She'd been pulling a few difficult shifts because Sarah and 'Billy' were having a little bit of a lovers quarrel and Sarah wasn't mature enough to show up to work and Bill wasn't man enough to fire her for it and couldn't (or was unwilling to) hire a temporary replacement. Plus she'd taken on a few more hours because one of the waitresses on 2nd shift, Jean, had quit because she'd gotten a better job. Something in an office.

Emily had to wonder where one could find the time to search for another job. It seemed like being a waitress took up most of her time. Between actually going to the job, then finding comfortable shoes that weren't expensive, washing her uniform by hand because she couldn't afford an apartment with a washing machine, and practicing her smile in the mirror to get better tips, plus the stress of wondering if Sarah wasn't trying to get her fired for some reason... She couldn't even find the energy to summon the brain power to decide whether or not to go on a date.

Truth be told she'd been staring at that business card for the last week and still couldn't make her mind up to call him. She'd wanted to go with him immediately when he'd first asked, just something about his face... But once she'd gotten a chance to consider it it all just seemed a little too weird.

A well off guy like that doesn't just come into a diner for a week and then asks out the waitress just as he's being run off... do they? She supposed she couldn't really know what normal behavior for someone like that would be. But maybe he'd become a regular at the diner in the first place so that he could ask her out and didn't want to lose his last opportunity. Bill's cooking wasn't THAT good.

There wasn't any reason to assume that he wanted any sort of relationship though. Maybe he just wanted a pick up. But she didn't know if she wanted to spend time and energy on what would basically be a one night stand.

She'd been down all of these lines of thought before. They weren't really helping and she really couldn't help but think that she was making this too hard. She set all these thoughts aside and worked on getting food. She hadn't gotten the chance to go grocery shopping yet and she was sort of at the end of the last paycheck anyway so there wasn't much in the kitchen. She poked around the cupboards and was able to procure a can of tuna and crackers. That'd do.

She pulled out some mustard and relish and mixed it into the tuna using the can as a bowl. She carefully spread a small dollop of it on a saltine. This familiar and mundane motion spurred some peculiar thoughts in her head.

Emily remembered when she first came to New York. She hadn't had many grand delusions of what it would be like. She was only 16 at the time, she expected it to be hard. But in the back of her mind she had expected some sort of reward for the hardship. Some sort of glamorous lifestyle at the end of the tunnel. Now, three years later, she was staring down at her decidedly unglamorous dinner of tuna and crackers and deliberately avoiding the one interesting thing that was happening in her life right now.

Emily stuffed the cracker into her mouth and went to go get the card. She was going to call him before she lost her nerve.

====[Break]====

Owen looked was perusing his notes over the dinner table. Xanatos had taken his entourage and a small group from ShoreCast out to dinner to finalize the deal. Owen's phone rang, chirping quietly through the din of the restaurant. Xanatos gave him an incredulous look.

"Who could you have possibly given that number that isn't here already?" Xanatos asked. He sounded rather smug, like he already knew. Owen was sure he was bluffing.

It was a call he'd been expecting, though now wasn't really the best time to take it. He quickly got up from the table and answered the phone.

"Burnett." He answered sharply. There was a pause at the end of the line.

"Did I call at a bad time?" It was Emily.

"Not at all. I was just in the middle of a business dinner." Owen answered.

"How late do you work?" Emily asked.

"I'm on the west coast at the moment. It's three hours earlier here." He explained.

"Oh... Well..." There was another pause. Owen decided to cut to the chase.

"I'll be back in New York by Friday, if you'll be free then?"

"Umm... Yes, I will. Be free on Friday." She didn't sound very confident in that assessment.

"Would Saturday be more agreeable?" Owen questioned.

"No." Emily said quickly. "Friday is fine."

Owen raised an eyebrow even though he knew she couldn't see it.

"It is, I just have to rearrange a few things. It wouldn't be any better on Saturday." Emily had apparently sensed his incredulous stare even through the phone.

"Very well. How shall I reach you then?" Owen asked. Owen snaked his way back to the table discreetly and held the phone with his shoulder while he jotted down Emily's home number. He deliberately ignored Xanatos' curiosity and took the paper with him, stuffing it into his breast pocket while he left the table again.

"I'll call you on Friday then to get your address beforehand. 8 O'Clock?"

"Sounds great." Emily answered. "I'll leave you to your dinner now, didn't mean to interrupt."

Owen pocketed his phone and made his way back to the table.

Xanatos gave him a look when he sat back down. Owen ignored it.

====[Break]====

Emily hated talking on phones. That had been rather unpleasant. Owen's clipped tones had come across like he hadn't really wanted to be talking to her just then. The way he'd answered the phone had made her seriously consider hanging up for a split second before she got her nerve up.

Well, it was over with now. She officially had a date for Friday. That was only four days away and she knew she had to work. That shouldn't be a problem since she worked in the morning and the date wouldn't be until 8 in the evening... but she had the feeling that she should probably try to take the day off. If nothing else then to pamper herself. She was determined to have a good day on Friday.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've decided that this clearly isn't actually a story anymore. I mean c'mon, the plot is taking so long that I'm not really sure that there is one anymore. It's just a ridiculous blob of fan rambling that is starting to make less and less sense. Though I guess I'll just keep writing it for as long as I find it enjoyable anyway.


	9. Setting the Scene Part 1

**Author's Note:** Mmm... Nothing to say about this one really. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 8: Setting the Scene, Part 1

Lexington, once he'd put on the necklace, proceeded to completely forget about it. It suddenly didn't seem like anything to take interest in. That is... until someone else took notice of it.

When Lexington went back to the roost wearing the necklace the first time both Brooklyn and Broadway saw it.

"What have you got there Lex?" Broadway asked, pointing at the necklace.

"This?" Lex asked, putting his hand over the necklace. "I found it on the street." He answered.

"It looks expensive. Are you sure it doesn't belong to somebody? Maybe you should give it to Elisa." Brooklyn suggested.

"I looked around for anyone who might've dropped it. No one looked like they were searching around for it." Lexington said, expanding upon the lie.

"That doesn't mean someone didn't lose it." Brooklyn said in his 'no nonsense' voice. "C'mon, it's almost sunrise but we might still have time to get it to Elisa." Brooklyn held his hand out for the necklace.

Lexington cringed back a little and his grip tightened around the necklace instinctively.

"No..." He said hesitantly.

"What?"

"I mean... there's not enough time to explain where I got it. I'll just give it to her tomorrow night." Lexington amended.

"Alright." Brooklyn conceded. "But give it to her tomorrow."

"Right." Lexington agreed.

====[Break]====

All through her shift on Wednesday Emily rehearsed her request to have Friday off. Trying to come at it from different angles. She didn't think the pity angle would work very well.

_"Think of my social life! I spend all my time working and never get to socialize with people on a normal level. Surely I deserve some time off to go out and enjoy myself among civilized people?"_ Emily went over that in her head. It made Bill look bad, like he didn't care about his employees. Rather than invoking pity it'd probably invoke a sense of indignation, especially since it implied something about the diner's usual customer quality. She didn't think it'd work any better if she pleaded the case for her love life either. So mentioning the date wouldn't give that argument any points.

_"Hey Boss. I'm always on time, right? Plus I've been picking up a lot of extra hours on half time instead of overtime to help you out, yeah? Don't you think that maybe I deserve just one day off, since I've been doing such a wonderful job lately?"_ Emily thought that sounded better. If she played up how she was such a good employee she was maybe it'd guilt him into giving her a day off. She was essentially doing work for three people. Surely that merited something.

Confident that this tactic was the one that would work best she went to try it on Bill. There were no new customers at the moment so now was as good a time as any.

"Hey Boss..." Emily started as she knocked quietly on the door frame of the 'office', which was really more of a cove since it lacked an actual door.

"Yeah?" Bill grunted over his paper work. He looked up at her. Emily hedged a bit, he didn't really look in the mood for this conversation.

"Mmm... you look busy. I'll come back later." Emily replied.

Bill nodded absently, then looked up as if reminded of something.

"Oh, I've scheduled you for Jean's old Friday evening shift from now on." He said.

Emily bit back a scream. That was just the worst sort of luck.

"That's fine, but you'll have to find someone to cover this Friday." Emily replied, the calmness in her voice belying her true feelings on the matter.

"What for?" Bill asked, looking displeased at this revelation.

"Well, since I normally have Friday evenings off I already made plans." She explained.

"Why are you just now letting me know? I was counting on you to cover that shift anyway." Bill asked in outrage.

"Why didn't you let me know sooner then? You're not really good at giving advance notice of schedule changes." Emily countered.

"That's never been a problem before." Bill pointed out.

"That's because I usually cancel my plans. Which I'm not willing to do this time." Emily explained.

"Emily, I NEED someone to cover that shift. Lizzie can't do a Friday night shift be herself." Bill protested.

"Which is why you should have hired someone to replace Jean way before now. She left more than a month ago and it's not like you'd be lacking for applicants if you'd just bother to post a help wanted sign." Emily countered.

This seemed true enough. She remembered getting hired here. Several women had applied just the same day she had, and she suspected several more for each day that week had too. She didn't doubt that it's be the same now. Especially with how everyone was talking about the job market.

No, it definitely wasn't that Bill couldn't hire a new waitress. It's that he just wasn't for some reason. She couldn't begin to guess why. The result of this was that there were several open hours in the evening shifts now that Bill expected the other waitresses to fill, and while Emily was the first to jump on more hours there was still a limit to what she could do and what she felt she should be expected to do. She felt like this was reaching it.

"Maybe Sarah would be interested in picking up some extra hours or something." Emily said, trying to be helpful. She'd seen the work schedule. It hadn't surprised her at all to see that Sarah wasn't scheduled for any more than her regular shift whereas just about everyone else had snagged up a few hours of Jean's old shifts.

Bill didn't find this suggestion helpful at all, at least not if the look on his face was any indication. Emily was about to defend the statement but was interrupted by the front door chiming.

She went to the front feeling as though their conversation was unresolved. She could feel it biting her in the ass already.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I don't really care for the title of the chapter to be honest. But I can't really think of anything else. Not sure how many parts will have that title. I'm thinking three, but don't hold me to it.

** Whither:** It's not so much that the plot is running away from me, it's just that it seems like it's taking forever to get here. I tend to want to rush through my stories. I want to get to the bit where something happens. But if you don't go through all the inbetween bits then the story isn't as good... Which is why I'm all annoyed that all the chapters leading up to what I know is going to happen just seem like... filler. It seems pointless to write them but at the same time I know if I just rush through the plot points it wouldn't be as good a story.  
But I'm really glad that you like Emily. I worry over that sort of thing a lot. I feel like if I concentrate on the OC too much then people won't find the fanfic as interesting as I do. So it's nice to hear that you like her. It makes me less nervous about writing the scenes with her in them.


	10. Possession

**Author's Note:** This is really short and so I wasn't GOING to put it in by itself... But I felt so bad about not updating for a while. So... here.

* * *

Mini Chapter

Chapter 9: The Possession

Lexington shivered and clutched at the pendant around his neck nervously. Sweat gathered at his temples and a muscle under his right eye twitched as he contemplated removing the necklace. It was really the only way to get away with keeping it, he reasoned. If Brooklyn saw him with it again at dawn it might cause a fight. Or worse, he might ask difficult questions, or even try to take the necklace away from him forcibly.

Lexington shivered again, but this time there was a hard look in his eye. If Brooklyn DARED to try and take it... Well, never mind about that now. That's what he was trying to prevent.

But in order to keep it... he had to take it off. That was the only way. He wrapped his talons around the chain, intent on lifting it over his head.

_'Or...'_ Something in the back of his mind supplied, _'we could just leave.'_ Lexington paused. The idea had merit. What was the point of a necklace if you didn't wear it? And dealing with Brooklyn would be so pointless and difficult. He didn't HAVE to go back to the roost at sunrise really...

Lexington hesitated. Not go back to the roost? There was something wrong with that thought. He HAD to. The castle was the only place that was safe during the day.

_'But we don't HAVE to be vulnerable during the day...'_ Didn't he?

There was something wrong. Lexington could feel it. Of course he had to turn to stone during the day. What was telling him otherwise? Was it all trying to justify the necklace?

"We...?" He muttered. Who was...?

Lexington looked down at the necklace. He was still holding it as if to take it off. A sudden realization made him jerk the chain upwards in an attempt to get it over his head.

"AAARGH!" Lexington roared in pain. He let go of the necklace and cradled his hands. After a moment of heavy breathing he was able to unclench enough to bring his hands to eye level. His palms were blistered. The necklace had burned him.

"Oh no..." Lexington cradled his hands and looked around nervously. He edged towards the door. He had to tell someone... He'd go to Goliath, or Brooklyn. Someone had to know before...

A pair of hands clamped down on his shoulders. They snaked their way around until a pair of arms held him tightly around the shoulders.

"We should go outside." A woman's voice whispered in his ear.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I DO have more coming. A good couple chapters at least. Which, my attention span nonwithstanding, you might see in the next week or so.  
The main problem is that I kept thinking of things I wanted to add to the upcoming bits and I couldn't decide which way to take. Since there were some scenes that would contradict others and etc...

Eventually I just plotted it out and wrote that down and I REFUSE to deviate from that... much. Then you have to take into account that when it comes to writing conflict I want to hide under a pillow and let someone else do it. xD So yeah.  
Also my attention span for all of my own fanfics just went right out the window. I've been reading Portal fanfics for the last two weeks. And also thinking about starting yet ANOTHER fanfic... *slaps wrists* .

What can I say? I warned you guys before I started (I think) that updates are sporadic and whenever I can wrangle myself into writing. This is why I can't have a beta.

**Whither** - The economy thing comes more from Emily being an unreliable narrator, not the actual state of the economy. She's 19 and her only source of information on the subject is from the diners. You gotta remember, even when the economy was comparatively VERY good people still bitched about it. Also, it says a little about why Emily puts up with so much from her boss. She's worried that she won't be able to get another job should she quit.


	11. Setting the Scene Part 2

**Author's Note:** Did I say a week last time? I'm sure I meant a month... Blame my attention span. I think I might have a very select form of ADHD that applies only to fandoms and fanfiction. *nods sagely*

* * *

Chapter 11: Setting the Scene: Part 2

Brooklyn found Lexington on one of the balconies. He was perched on the ledge looking down at the city. He looked almost awestruck.

"Hey, Elisa showed up. Now would be a good time to ..." Brooklyn started. Lexington turned towards him so suddenly he almost jumped.

"Brooklyn..." Lexington whispered.

"You okay Lex?" Brooklyn asked, getting a look at Lexington's face. His eyes were glassy and vacant.

"It won't come off. She won't let me take it off." Lexington said in a voice that was cracked and panicked. He got off the edge and managed a few steps towards Brooklyn before hesitating. He looked out towards the city again.

"Who?" Brooklyn asked. He went up to Lexington and put a hand on his shoulder.

The reaction was instantaneous. Before Brooklyn could blink he was against the wall, some force pushing him away from Lexington. Brooklyn ignored his first reaction, to curse Lexington roundly, and instead picked himself up and went into high alert mode. He shook his head and looked at Lexington in order to determine what had happened.

Lexington was already back at the ledge.

"Lexington what-?" Lexington ignored him and leaped off the building. Brooklyn rushed forward and watched as Lexington spread his wings and glided off into the distance.

'Somethings wrong.' Brooklyn thought. 'I've got to tell Goliath.'

Break

"He what?" Brooklyn cringed at how appalled Goliath sounded.

"He just... took off. He hit me with some sort of magic that came out of his hands and then took off while I was down." Brooklyn explained again.

"How did this happen?" Goliath muttered in exasperation.

Brooklyn winced when he realized he had no real answer to give.

"He's been acting strange over the last day or so." Brooklyn offered. "Seemed really obsessed with some necklace he'd found."

"A necklace?" Goliath asked.

"Really shiny, sort of strange looking. Kind of expensive looking." Broadway offered as he remembered the night before.

Goliath's eyes narrowed as a vague recollection of Lexington muttering to himself swam into forethought. Something about magical artifacts and young Alexander.

"This is Puck's doing somehow." Goliath determined with a sigh.

"Owen's out of town until tomorrow." Broadway mentioned.

Goliath rubbed at his forehead. He could feel the headache coming on already.

"There may be no way to rectify this tonight lad." Hudson commiserated.

"It's nearly daylight. If Lexington truly has been invaded by a malicious force it won't be able to do much damage tonight." Goliath theorized. "But I fear for Lexington's safety if he's found away from the castle during the day."

"If a gargoyle statue is spotted it'll likely cause enough of a stir that the police will hear about it. I'll keep my eyes and hears open." Elisa said.

Goliath gave her a smile of gratitude that morphed quickly into a concerned frown. Elisa often stretched herself too thin in her efforts to aid the clan. She'd pulled a lot strings to get back on the night shift so she could spend more time with them and to help 'further their political agenda' as she called it. Goliath had suspicions that all of this was wearing at her, but all of his pushing had yet to be successful in making her slow down.

"I'll be fine." Elisa said softly, recognizing the look on his face. She touched his arm gently.

Goliath took her reassurance quietly before turning back to the group.

"Don't go off chasing Lexington tonight or you could get caught outside the castle at dawn as well." Goliath ordered. "We'll get to the bottom of this tomorrow night when Owen returns. If Puck isn't directly responsible then perhaps Owen will have some helpful advice, being so well versed in magic."

With their orders and a 'plan of attack' the clan left it at that. They scattered slowly, leaving Goliath and Elisa alone.

"Elisa..." Goliath said after a moment.

"I already know what you're going to say." Elisa teased. Goliath gave a a scathing look of annoyance.

"It's hardly dangerous to drive around and listen to the radio. Even in Manhattan traffic." Elisa reasoned.

"I just don't want you to put yourself in danger." Goliath argued. "Should the situation present itself and vigilantes _do_ go after Lexington..." He hesitated.

As the leader of the clan there were some feelings that Goliath would never be allowed to express. He was getting dangerously close to them now. The life of any one member of the clan could never be put before the life of any other member. That was very important to remember.

How he felt now was made even more terrible by the fact that he knew that should it come up Lexington would be completely defenseless ans Elisa would be in a perfect situation to stop it, even if it meant risking herself. He couldn't very well tell her not to, even if he did he knew instinctively that she wouldn't listen. She was just as much a member of the clan now as any of them and she'd taken their philosophies very much to heart. It pained him and warmed something inside of him at the same time to know this.

"I know." Elisa said after a long moment. She gave him an apologetic look.

'Don't risk your life for his.' Goliath left unsaid.

'That's not how it works big guy.' Elisa's silence said.

Elisa put her hand on his arm and nuzzled her face into his bicep just a little.

"You should get some really good rest. I bet tomorrow night is gonna be a doozy." Elisa commented.

"One could say the same to you." Goliath mentioned.

"I'll try my best big guy." Elisa smiled. "I promise."

* * *

**Author's Note:** From whence came this random Goliath/Elisa?! It just popped into my head out of nowhere. I just suddenly realized that I had just about none of them in this fanfic so far and they're generally important to the scenes I had coming up so I felt that needed some kind of build up. Also c'mon, I had to include them eventually. It's sort of intimidating to write them though.  
Anyway, sorry for not getting this out sooner. Part of the reason is because I'm on the road and it's really REALLY hard to find an internet connection worth it's salt. I'm at a library in Southern California at the moment and the internet here suuuuuucks.


	12. Interrogation

A/N: Aaaaaaaand, we're back!

* * *

Chapter 12: Interrogation

Owen was ignoring Xanatos. A task that had been getting increasingly difficult since Emily's call at dinner last night.

Xanatos had taken it upon himself to find out just who had called Owen and what had been said. Normally this wouldn't have disturbed Owen in the slightest. Xanatos was more or less easily evaded. If only they hadn't been on a plane...

"It was someone you really wanted to be able to contact you, or else you would have given them your office number." Xanatos reasoned. Owen neither confirmed or denied this, as the statement spoke for itself.

"And it almost definitely has something to do with the time off you took last month." Xanatos said. He said this so definitively that it was almost certainly a shot in the dark.

"Does it?" Owen asked, not taking his eyes off his work.

"It does." Xanatos answered.

Owen supposed that it wasn't an unreasonable assumption. Even looking through his own eyes the idea had merit.

"But what I haven't quite figured out is how all of this ties in with Puck." Xanatos added, knocking Owen from his train of thought.

Owen could suddenly see the downside of riding in a private jet. This wasn't a statement Xanatos would have dared to say if there was any chance of being overheard. Of course, there was the pilot, but he was in a secured cockpit and was only likely to contact them via intercom. The intercom made a noise for every action, so it wasn't going to give them away.

Owen actually paused to think about the statement. Initially he hadn't considered that Emily did have anything to do with Avalon or his life as Puck. Their first interactions when he'd had the necklace on had seemed to be total coincidence. But in the following weeks, when he'd hadn't the heart to let go of the necklace right away after missing her for so long, he'd noticed something. Even after he'd put his barriers up, and even when he wasn't feeling particularly flirtatious, or even that friendly, the necklace had behaved... oddly.

Whenever he was at the diner, the necklace had given off little... tugs of sensation. Just little annoying things that seemed like the magical equivalent of a fly landing on you. Something that forced you to recognize it was there. He was almost certain it was because of Emily, but he hadn't any solid proof of this. But she seemed to be the only consistent feature that he thought the necklace would respond to. It hadn't slipped past his attentions that she bore a remarkable resemblance to the brown haired woman he'd seen in his dreams. He believed that was why he was attracted to her.

So, in a roundabout way, he supposed that there was a connection to Puck buried in his motivations for asking Emily out. Not that he'd ever admit it, even so.

"The two needn't be tied to each other at all." Owen said, as if to answer Xanatos, after his moment of contemplation.

Xanatos frowned. As usual, and frequently with good reason, he didn't believe it. Whenever Owen deliberately kept something from him, it almost always had to do with Puck. The constraints of the contract said only that Owen served him, not Puck himself. Therefore Puck demanded autonomy, even if he couldn't get it as often nowadays. Owen wasn't going to tell him anything.

Owen looked at Xanatos for just a moment, then went back to his work when it was clear he didn't have anymore to say.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. Work was done, some business calls were made, and there was some minor turbulence as they got further east. But nothing of any note happened until the jet touched down in Manhattan that evening.

When the jet landed and they were making there way through to the more public part of the airport they were suddenly accosted by a slew of reporters. This, in itself, was perfectly normal and so they continued walking without missing a beat. No doubt news of the merger had made it to the east coast by now and the media was all abuzz.

"Mr. Xanatos, what do you have to say about the rumors of gargoyles being spotted during the day?"

"Mr. Xanatos, what do you intend to do about the property damage supposedly caused by the gargoyle identified as Lexington?"

"Mr. Xanatos, what is really going on?"

Anyone with a trained eye, who really knew David Xanatos, might've perceived the slight pause in his gait as he processed this information. There were a few strides made on autopilot before Xanatos thought of anything to say.

"It's biologically impossible for a gargoyle to be active during the day. No doubt this is the work of one of the better funded terrorist groups looking to discredit Goliath and his clan." He answered succinctly. By this time they were at the town car and he was no longer obliged to answer questions. He and Owen quickly slid into the car and motioned the drive to go.

"It seems we've missed something rather interesting while we were away." Xanatos commented, his casual tone belying the worry he felt.

"Indeed." Owen commented. Xanatos glanced at him and noted a peculiar look in his eyes.

"Do _you_ know what's going on?" Xanatos asked.

Owen declined to answer.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Next chapter(s...?) will be up really soon. Promise.


	13. Confrontation

A/N: I noticed that somewhere down the line I screwed up the chapter numbering. Just so you know, I am not likely to fix that.

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Chapter 13: Confrontation

It was well into the evening, but not quite dusk, when Xanatos and Owen arrived back at the castle. Xanatos had ceased asking questions of Owen, as his silence told him all he needed to know. Owen clearly had some idea what might be going on, but not enough information to give a definitive answer. Rather than risk being wrong, he just declined to say anything.

But he clearly knew something, or else he'd have admitted ignorance. With this knowledge Xanatos could only assume that this was some sort of machination gone wrong. If it involved Lexington getting hurt Owen was no doubt feeling terrible guilty. He and Lexington had found some sort of kinship through Alex and had become fast friends in the past year or so. So much so that Xanatos had to wonder if Lexington's involvement was intentional.

At the castle nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It was as quiet and still as could be expected. Xanatos and Owen made there way to the roof to meet the gargoyles as the sun was setting. The very first thing of note was that Lexington was missing.

Xanatos and Owen stood back as the statues around them began to crack. After fully awaking Goliath spotted the two of them and immediately approached them. He looked determined.

"Goliath," Xanatos greeted. "I've been hearing some distressing news since getting back into the city this afternoon.

"Indeed." Goliath replied. "I was wondering if Owen couldn't shed some light on the situation." He added. Goliath had never been one to mince words.

"How may I be of assistance?" Owen asked.

"Not long before you left Lexington was heard muttering about some magical artifact. He later was seen with a necklace that has somehow possessed his body for it's own purposes. I rather suspect that this has something to do with you." Goliath stated plainly.

Owen was running the facts in his head and going through his options when Xanatos decided to chime in.

"Might this have something to do with the necklace you recently acquired?" Xanatos asked.

"Lexington said he found in on the ground in the city somewhere." Brooklyn informed them.

"Highly unlikely." Owen protested, deciding that some measure of truth was probably for the best in this instance. "I recently came into possession of a necklace with some magical properties. He saw me examining it and no doubt his curiosity got the better of him. While I was away perhaps he thought to take it and find out for himself what it does." Owen explained.

"You just left it laying around unguarded?" Xanatos asked.

"It was securely locked in my desk." Owen answered.

"This seems solved easily enough. Just explain to us what the necklace does, from there we should be able to find a way to reverse the effects." Hudson reasoned.

"I cannot." Owen said.

"You do not know what it does?" Goliath asked, an edge creeping into his voice.

"I believe the necklace is a vessel of some sort. But I've no way of knowing what sort of effects it would have on a mortal being." Owen answered.

"It's clearly a vessel for some malevolent being. The one that has taken over Lexington and proceeded to wreak havoc on the city and it's inhabitants while in HIS flesh!" Goliath yelled at the stoic man in front of him.

"Even during the day?" Xanatos asked. "It's strong enough to override turning to stone?"

"Eliza spotted him in the sky yesterday." Broadway explained.

Owen could see the wheels in Xanatos' head beginning to turn. Normally he loved that look, but just at the moment he'd rather not deal with it.

"Is there truly nothing helpful you can tell us about whatever is possessing Lexington?" Goliath asked. "No information to help rid us of it?"

"Lexington's situation is most regrettable, and truly I wish there was something I could do. But I do not have the ability to stop this." Owen answered.

Goliath growled under his breath and then sighed.

"Very well." Goliath conceded. He stalked away with an air of sullen agitation.

Xanatos stared at Goliath as the pack followed him away, then turned his attention to Owen.

"Are you intending to help them? This was all your doing, after all." Xanatos asked.

Owen just walked away.

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A/N: This chapter was going to be longer, but the 2nd part of it is really difficult to write. So I'm breaking in up into two chapters.


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